[Clinico-anatomical findings of the nasodental nerve]

To avoid neuralgic pain as consequence of damaging the nasodental nerve during surgical treatment of chronic maxillary sinusitis by the Caldwell-Luc-approach, the accurate knowledge of the nasodental nerve's course might be useful for the surgeon. Therefore, the anatomy of this nerve was evaluated by dissection of 23 human specimens. The nasodental nerve is the largest single branch of the infraorbital nerve's Rr. alveolares superiores anteriores. The first course of the nasodental nerve in the roof of the maxillary sinus has a (mean) length of 14 mm on the right and 16 mm on the left side. Mostly it accompanies the infraorbital nerve in the canalis infraorbitalis and leaves this common channel 4 mm on the right and 6 mm on the left behind the infraorbital foramen. The next part of the nerve, which is orientated from laterocranial to mediocaudal, is found in the front wall of the antrum Highmori and has a length of 18 mm at the right and 20 mm at the left. Next it leaves the sinus through a tiny channel at the angle between the front and the medial wall of the maxillary sinus. On the last course, the nerve runs in the lateral wall of the nose 8 mm at the right and 9 mm at the left behind the rim of the apertura piriformis.